title: Family caregiver burden, skills preparedness, and quality of life in non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe burden, skills preparedness, and quality of life (QOL) for caregivers of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and describe how the findings informed the development of a caregiver palliative care intervention that aims to reduce caregiver burden, improve caregiving skills, and promote self-care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive, longitudinal.
  
  
  METHODS
  A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in southern California.
  
  
  METHODS
  163 family members or friends aged 18 years or older and identified by patients as being a caregiver.
  
  
  METHODS
  All eligible caregivers were approached by advanced practice nurses during a regularly scheduled patient clinic visit. Informed consent was obtained prior to study participation. Outcome measures were completed at baseline and repeated at 7, 12, 18, and 24 weeks. Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables, and one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to test for change over time for all predictor and outcome variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  Caregiver burden, skills preparedness, psychological distress, and QOL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregivers were highly functional. Caregiver burden related to subjective demands increased significantly over time. Perceived skills preparedness was high at baseline but decreased over time. Psychological distress was moderate but increased in the study period. Overall QOL was moderate at baseline and decreased significantly over time. Psychological well-being had the worst QOL score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Caregivers experienced high levels of caregiver burden and reported deteriorations in psychological well-being and overall QOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oncology nurses need to ensure that caregivers receive information that supports the caregiving role throughout the cancer trajectory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although family caregivers are profoundly impacted by a loved one's lung cancer diagnosis, the literature about caregiver burden, skills preparedness, and QOL is limited. Current evidence suggests that family caregivers can be negatively impacted by a loved one's cancer diagnosis. Caregiver-specific support interventions are needed to eliminate the burden of caregiving in lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Research and Education, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA. mgrant@coh.org
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujinami
authors.forename: Rupinder
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sidhu
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otis-Green
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Juarez
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ferrell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D022143:Family Nursing / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult